This invention relates to a mount for an assist grip equipped in a passenger room of a vehicle.
Assist grips for vehicles are broadly classified as retractable type and fixed type. The former retractable assist grip includes a grip body with legs at both lengthwise ends and a pair of mounts onto which the corresponding legs of the grip body are mounted for swing motion. Thus, with the mounts attached to a car body panel through respective panel openings, the retractable assist grip can be swung between its retracted position and use position.
As a retractable assist grip of such kind, there is known an assist grip as for example disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,322 which aims at easily and readily mounting the assist grip in the panel openings. In this assist grip, a mount body of each mount is formed with a through hole and a pair of engaging pieces each having a pawl at the distal end thereof are extended from the periphery of the through hole on the back of the mount body.
In mounting this assist grip to the car body panel through the panel openings, the mounts are presented to the corresponding panel openings of the car body panel, the pairs of engaging pieces are inserted into the corresponding panel openings, respectively, and the mount bodies are caused to abut on the peripheries of the corresponding panel openings from the front side of the car body panel. Then, locking members are inserted into the through holes of the mount bodies from the front side of the car body panel, respectively, and in this state, the grip body is swung in its retracted direction to press-insert each of the locking members between the pair of engaging pieces through the corresponding through hole of the mount body. Each of the press-inserted locking members pushes the pair of engaging pieces apart from each other so that the pawls of the engaging pieces are engaged on the periphery of the panel opening from the back side of the car body panel. Thus, the car body panel is secured in sandwich relation between the mount bodies and the pawls.
The latter fixed type assist grip has a monolithic construction in which legs at both ends of a grip body are mounted at lower ends thereof to corresponding mounts against swing motion. The assist grip is held against movement in a state where it is mounted in the panel openings of the car body panel through the mounts. Among the fixed type assist grips, there also exists one which employs the mounts and locking members having the above-described structures. In this case, though, unlike the retractable type one, the locking member is manually press-inserted, by using a pressing jig, between the engaging pieces through the through hole of the mount body, the assist grip is mounted in the panel openings through the same engagement mechanism as employed by the retractable assist grip.
For the mounts of these assist grips, in inserting the engaging pieces of the mount into each of the panel openings in order to mount the assist grip in the panel openings, it is desirable in terms of smooth mounting work to make the mount provisionally retained by engaging the pawl of the engaging piece on the periphery of the panel opening so as to hold the mount against disengagement from the panel opening in the inserted position of the engaging pieces.
To implement such provisional retention of the mount, the distance between the pawls of the pair of engaging pieces must be longer than the width of the panel opening in an unconstrained position of the engaging pieces where they are not yet pushed apart from each other by the locking member.
With this structure, in inserting the pair of engaging pieces into the panel opening, the engaging pieces are passed through the panel opening by moving the engaging pieces in a direction to approach each other to narrow the distance between the engaging pieces while slidingly contacting their pawls with the edge of the panel opening. After the passage through the panel opening, the engaging pieces are moved apart from each other by their own restoring forces so that the pawls thereof engage the periphery of the panel opening, thereby implementing provisional retention.
However, since the engaging piece has a substantially high rigidity due to the need for ensuring mounting strength, performing provisional retention in the above manner involves a substantially large force to insert the engaging pieces into the panel opening. This invites decreased working efficiency. Further, also in the later press-insertion of the locking member between the engaging pieces for full retention for fully fixing the provisionally retained mount to the panel, the high rigidity of the engaging pieces requires a substantially large force to press the locking member in between them. This invites further decreased working efficiency.
If the rigidity of the engaging piece is lowered to cope with the above shortcomings, the provisional retention property and mounting strength of the mount would be degraded, though insertion of the engaging pieces and press-insertion of the locking member could be implemented easily.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing points and therefore has its object of providing simple and reliable provisional and full retention of the mount with a small force.
To achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized by providing a dedicated provisional retention piece in addition to the engaging pieces.
Specifically, the present invention is directed to a mount for an assist grip wherein the assist grip includes: a grip body with legs at both lengthwise ends; a pair of mounts each having a mount body onto which one of the legs of the grip body is mounted for or against swing motion, the mount body being provided with a pair of engaging pieces extending lengthwise of the grip body; and a locking member for locking and holding the engaging pieces in position apart from each other through press-insertion thereof between the pair of engaging pieces to move the engaging pieces apart from each other, and wherein when the assist grip is mounted to a car body panel through panel openings of the car body panel, the pair of engaging pieces are inserted into the corresponding panel opening and the locking member is then press-inserted between the pair of engaging pieces so that the engaging pieces moved apart from each other by the press-insertion of the locking member are held engaged on the edge of the panel opening. The present invention takes the following solutions.
A solution taken in the invention of Claim 1 is characterized in that on at least one of both sides of the mount body where the pair of engaging pieces are located, a provisional retention piece is provided which is independent of and separated from the engaging piece, and in mounting the assist grip to the car body panel through the panel openings, the provisional retention piece is inserted together with the engaging pieces into the corresponding panel opening and thereby engaged on the edge of the panel opening to provisionally retain the mount onto the car body panel.
With the above structure of the invention of Claim 1, since provisional retention of the mount is made by the retention piece, the pair of engaging pieces need only a function of fully retaining the mount. Therefore, if the engaging pieces are set to come into slight or no contact with the edge of the panel opening when inserted into the panel opening, they scarcely experience resistance to insertion but the provisional retention piece exclusively experiences it. Accordingly, the provisional retention piece can be smaller in size than the engaging piece in consideration of its function. Consequently, even if the provisional retention piece of small size has a high rigidity, it is easily flexed as compared with the case of making provisional retention by using the engaging pieces entirely without a dedicated provisional retention piece and provides ease and reliable provisional retention of the mount with a small insertion, resulting in increased working efficiency.
Further, at the full retention of the mount after the provisional retention, the locking member is press-inserted between the pair of engaging pieces so that the engaging pieces are moved apart from each other. The engaging pieces are thus engaged on the edge of the panel opening for the first time. In this case, the provisional retention piece needs only a function of provisionally retaining the mount. Therefore, if the locking member is set to come into slight or no contact with the provisional retention piece when press-inserted between the engaging pieces, the provisional retention piece scarcely experiences resistance to insertion but the engaging pieces exclusively experience it. Accordingly, the engaging piece can be smaller in size by a portion corresponding to the provisional retention piece as compared with the case of using the engaging pieces only without the provisional retention piece. Consequently, even if the engaging piece of small size has a high rigidity, it is easily flexed and provides ease and reliable full retention of the mount with a small insertion, resulting in increased working efficiency.
Another solution taken in the invention of Claim 2 is characterized, in the invention of Claim 1, in that at least one of the pair of engaging pieces is provided with an engaging pawl, the engaging pawl extending lengthwise of the engaging piece, projecting in a direction orthogonal to the lengthwise direction of the engaging piece and engaging the periphery of the panel opening, and the provisional retention piece is provided with a provisional retention pawl, the provisional retention pawl projecting in the same direction of projection of the engaging pawl and engaging the periphery of the panel opening.
With the above structure of the invention of Claim 2, an embodiment is provided which shows an exemplary positional relationship between the engaging pawl of the engaging piece and the provisional retention pawl of the provisional retention piece.
A still another solution taken in the invention of Claim 3 is characterized, in the invention of Claim 1, in that at least one of the pair of engaging pieces is provided with an engaging pawl, the engaging pawl extending lengthwise of the engaging piece, projecting in a direction orthogonal to the lengthwise direction of the engaging piece and engaging the periphery of the panel opening, and the provisional retention piece is provided with a provisional retention pawl, the provisional retention pawl projecting lengthwise of the at least one engaging piece and engaging the periphery of the panel opening.
With the above structure of the invention of Claim 3, another embodiment is provided which shows another exemplary positional relationship between the engaging pawl of the engaging piece and the provisional retention pawl of the provisional retention piece.
A still another solution taken in the invention of Claim 4 is characterized, in the invention of any one of Claims 1 to 3, in that the locking member is provided with a stop which is abuttable, when the assist grip is mounted to the cap body panel through the panel openings, on a back face of the provisional retention piece to block movement of the provisional retention piece opposite to a direction of engagement.
With the above structure of the invention of Claim 4, the function of fully retaining the mount is added to the provisional retention piece and therefore the mounting strength for the mount can be increased.